I had to post this because my mother just totally annoyed me by telling my daughter that stretch bands are good for women because they don’t give you manly muscles. I want to make it clear right now, bands develop muscle and they are not isolated for women only. Where did she hear that? My mother is 60 years old and I know for a fact that I have exposed the “manly muscle” myth to her. My point here is, if you don’t know what you’re talking about, please do not engage in conversations if you don’t have facts.
Myth #5: Women should focus on performing aerobic activities because weight training will give them a “manly” appearance.
This myth just won’t go away, mainly because of bodybuilding magazines. People associate females who strength-train with the female bodybuilders pictured in bodybuilding magazines. Professional female bodybuilders usually resemble men because of the massive amount of anabolic, androgenic drugs they consume. However, these “females” shouldn’t be confused with drug-free women who incorporate resistance training into their fitness programs. The next time that this topic comes up, remember the following facts: 1) Much of the difference in muscle mass between males and females is attributed to hormones, specifically, Testosterone. On average, men produce ten times more Testosterone than females. Unless you’re a female who’s taking anabolic steroids or other male hormones, lifting weights will not make you look like a man! It’s actually harder for most females to build muscle compared to their male counterparts. 2) There’s also a difference in muscle mass distribution between men and women, especially in the upper body. If you do build a significant amount of muscle, you still won’t look masculine. So, it’s important to remember that male hormones and muscle mass distribution are the two main reasons that men usually carry more muscle than woman. Ladies, get in the weightroom!
J. Defranco #5 of Top Ten Traininig Myths
LIFT HARD! TRAIN HARD!
May 9, 2007 at 1:07 am
My mom is 68 now…and when I first started training in the martial arts when I was 15, she was grossed out by the definition in my biceps (not like it was a lot)! I think it’s just a generational thing where woman are supposed to look dainty and delicate and not have really defined muscles.
May 9, 2007 at 2:20 am
I have two girls (8,7) and a boy (6), I can understand an old or outdated way of thinking but times have changed and this was something that she has learned before. Even though she had learned this, it goes to show how powerful myths are. I definitely don’t want my girls (who are years ahead of boys their age) to think they are second class athletes and they have to use the pink dumbell racks and only tubing in their workouts. Bob J. over at EliteFTS once said in an article he wrote ” Female athletes are my heroes because they do things with their brains and heart that the males need testosterone to do. They are fierce! This is all a good thing”.
I love that. That statement should go down in history as one of the most profound statements ever made. Thank you for commenting.
May 9, 2007 at 5:50 am
I’ve always found this funny/sad. Back in the day when I played softball, one grandmother said something similar to me and the other said something along the lines of “Well, us farm girls always were a little more muscle-ey than the uptown girls.” Then my mother had to take a PE class for college credit and she picked out- weight lifting. As a 14 year old girl it was pretty awesome to have my Mom come home after a class and tell me she benched more than the skinny geek next to her as well as show off a well developed bicep. What was interesting was that she built mass pretty quickly for a woman it has to be something genetic, because when I lift seriously I build pretty quickly too. So I’ve always wondered how genetics plays a role in building muscle mass.
May 9, 2007 at 8:37 am
Genetics play a huge role in how quickly a person builds muscle mass, and the shape of the muscle. Genetics play a huge role in many things, but that doesn’t mean a person cannot develop over a period of time.
There are four types of muscle fibers Type I (slow twitch fibers highly resistant to fatigue and injury, with low force output, aerobic pathway), Type II a (fast twitch, larger in size and much stronger than Type I, anaerobic) and Type II b (extremely strong but have almost no resistance to fatigue or injury) Type II c
Fast and slow twitch fibers is what we all pay most attention to. These fibers vary from person to person and muscle to muscle. Thanks for commenting.
May 9, 2007 at 2:09 pm
I have a rubber stretch band, 3 of them in fact. I adore them. They make my workouts so much easier and more fun than using the free weight, plus they’re so portable, I can even shove mine in my pocket.
I don’t understand why it is that people are still stuck on that “manly muscles” thing. I’ve seen a lot of women who strength-train and only one or two of them looked manly, and that I believe was because they chose to do so.
May 9, 2007 at 3:30 pm
I agree Charity.
May 9, 2007 at 5:38 pm
PREACH!
My wife has been lifting with me for 9 months now. The results have been awesome.
Nobody would ever consider her “manly.”
May 10, 2007 at 10:39 pm
Yes sir! I’m hitting the weight room 2morrow!
May 11, 2007 at 9:13 pm
I used to be one of those people who believed in that myth – I certainly do not anymore, not since starting my regime almost a month ago. Honestly, I check out Jillian Michaels’ biceps… oh dear god I WANT THEM!!!